Teaching & Living in Navajo Country

At Petroglyphs National Park
 in Albuquerque.

Gallup, New Mexico couldn’t have been more different from western Pennsylvania. From the grocery store to the rodeo, the post office to the classroom, I got used to being a “bellagonna.” For those of you not familiar with the Navajo culture, a bellagonna is a white girl. I can’t tell you how many people in Gallup named their white dogs “Bella.” I loved how people seemed to tell a story when they gave directions to their house or when you asked them if they had a good day. I loved the smell of roasting Hatch chilies in the autumn. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend Saturday afternoon than hanging out at the Navajo flea market: Fry bread dripping with honey, the unbeatable prices of handcrafted silver and turquoise jewelry, and the deep wrinkles on the elders’ faces as they held hands with their great-grandchildren.

Navajo Country is a unique area of the world and I was blessed to live there amongst resilient, artistic, and easy-to-laugh people. Of course there are hardships (poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, etc.). But there was something about living in this region that fed my spirit; I became an adult while I was living there, and I could almost feel the Great Mother reaching up from the earth to hold me during the hard times and to smile at me during the high times.

Churckrock in Red Rock State Park.
For a time, the red rocks were my
view as I washed dishes!

It’s hard to put my teaching experiences into words. I LOVED my school, and the children, their families, and the staff became my family. When I decided to move away, it felt like I was leaving my family all over again. I miss them all tremendously. I was able to take on many responsibilities while I taught in Gallup. I had the privilege of updating our special education program to reflect best practices in the field. We tried many new approaches to delivering special education services, including creating a deaf education program, inclusion services, and gifted and talented services. We were data driven and used response to intervention techniques long before many other schools and regions in the US. Students were exited from special education when appropriate, thus debunking the perception that special education is “a life sentence.”  I learned to become an educational leader during my tenure at Indian Hills Elementary School. I frequently look back at the teachers and administrators with overwhelming gratitude; they provided an atmosphere where I could blossom as an educator.

It's a rite of passage to adopt a
"Rez dog" while living in this
region. Here's my baby, Lucy, who was
born to a wild dog in Churchrock.

I actually had a dream last night about one of my former students. It was almost like he was checking in with me and I remember whispering in his ear, “Always remember how special you are to me. You are loved.” I hope that message was received. I’m friends with some of my students’ parents on Facebook and can’t believe that my former elementary students are dating and going to formal dances. I’m getting choked up as I remember them. I asked my students to trust me, and they did. Many of these students had very little reason to trust people, so I made sure that my every action was worthy. I worked every day for them- the students well being was my full time job. After a couple of years, I started to get invitations to birthday parties, baseball games, etc. When they left for middle school, I’d bring lunch to them so we could catch up. I loved them, and I wanted them to have many options as they grew up. The realization that I had no control over their education once they left elementary school was almost maddening. So I learned to have faith.

Here's my gang of supporters
at graduation. Many of them graduated
the following year!

I would never have been an effective teacher if it wasn’t for all of the training I received along the way, including earning a Master’s degree from Western New Mexico University. Now that I’m a teacher educator, I think about my professors frequently and appreciate them deeply. Finally, that leads me to my current career path and I’m so excited to start blogging about my current students. More soon!